Time for another restaurant review. Recently we went to a Chinese restaurant which opened this summer - Royale Fine Dining Banquet. It took over the premises of Star Walk Buffet in Scarborough. The new owners did a complete make-over to the restaurant to make it more upscale & fine dining; more on my opinion on that later on, but first let's focus on the food.
The menu had a lot of the usual Cantonese fare which my family enjoys. We had 13 people and wanted some of our usual favorites like: Sweet & Sour Pork, Beef Tenderloin With Onion, Crab Meat & Egg White With Broccoli (Choi Pong Hai), Seafood & Veggies In Bird's Nest, Crispy Chicken, and Cantonese Chow Mein. We also ordered a Stir Fried Lobster In Garlic & Onion Sauce, a Chinese vegetable (tong choi) and a fancy fish dish recommended by the manager. With 6 bowls of rice, tax, and tip the bill came out to be $280.
Let's start with the quality of the food. The food was very good - not spectacular - but good enough that I would recommend this restaurant. My family likes trying new restaurants (especially Chinese ones). Whenever we do try a new restaurant there are a few dishes that we always order to "test" the chef, namely the ones I mentioned above. The Sweet & Sour Pork needs to be crispy and tender and the sauce and the garnishes need to be fresh and in just the right proportions - this dish here certainly passes the test. The Crab Meat & Egg White With Broccoli (Choi Pong Hai) is a favourite of the the 3M's when done perfectly because it is a great dish to accompany a bowl of white rice - the egg whites must be scrambled light and fluffly with pieces of shrimp & scallops that are just the right size (not to big and not too small) - this one passes too. I liked the way the presented the Cantonese Chow Mein with the sauce on half the plate and the fried noodle on the other half - this way the noodles don't get soggy sitting in the sauce. The Crispy Chicken was good and it came with shrimp chips that weren't soggy or stale - pass & pass. Unfortunately the Bird's Nest wasn't made with shredded taro (I'm not sure what it was made with) - taro is really the best way to do a bird's nest.
This is suppose to be a "Fine Dining Restaurant" so I would expect a certain level of service - which I did receive. My one complaint is that I felt they were too pushy with their "Chef's Recommendations". The manager came by and tried to get us to order all these expensive seafood delicacies - things like sea cucumber, fancy fishes, shark fin soups, abalone, and other weird Chinese stuff that my family really doesn't eat - we ended up ordering a fancy fish dish which costs $38. I know that these delicacies cater to a certain Chinese clientele. People from China and Hong Kong seem to really enjoy these types of foods, but part of me wonders if they really do - or is it just a status thing? Going with the fine dining theme the decor was a lot of large chandeliers and gold accents - why do all Chinese Fine Dining restaurants go this route? But the restaurant was clean and the waiters/waitresses did speak English well - you would think that this is a basic requirement, but not so in many of the restaurants in our area.
Obviously you can get a good Cantonese style dinner for 10 people in this area for half the price of our meal. But if you want to treat you and your family for an atmosphere a little more fancy, with staff a little more attentive, and food that not only tastes good but is presented well then definitely go give this restaurant a try.
Y.C.
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